The first news on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 development front is pretty bad news
After (inexplicably) waiting for roughly 18 months to unveil its highly anticipated Galaxy Tab S8, Tab S8+, and Tab S8 Ultra sequels to 2020's premium Tab S7 duo, Samsung was apparently expected to kick off the "development" of the next-gen Galaxy Tab S9 family this December in preparation for a release at some point during the first half of next year.
But that's reportedly not the company's plan anymore, which means that hardcore Samsung fans might be left waiting a similarly long time for the Tab S9, S9+, and S9 Ultra as their iPad Pro-rivaling forerunners.
While this also means it's too early to make any firm predictions for the eventual launch schedule of the Galaxy Tab S9 trio now, an announcement alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 in August 2023 feels like a relatively safe bet all of a sudden.
After all, the high-end Tab S8 series was unveiled together with the state-of-the-art Galaxy S22 handset lineup in February 2022 and the Tab S7 and Tab S7+ saw daylight at the Z Fold 2's side back in August 2020, which suggests a pattern.
Of course, Samsung could always decide to dedicate an entire Unpacked event to a new Android tablet (or three), especially if the company takes more time for its development and ends up using this time to add major new features and game-changing technologies... of some sort to the equation.
For now, we can't be 100 percent sure that the Galaxy Tab S9 family will include three different members, as Samsung purportedly aimed for when setting its sights on a December 2022 development start. There are also absolutely no rumored specs or features to discuss at this point in time, but if you're curious, the reason for this delay is "presumed" to be a "recent global economic uncertainty."
That's definitely vague, and it might only represent part of the problem, with the other part having something to do with the declining demand for tablets around the world over the last few quarters.
Overall tablet shipments, mind you, are expected to take a hit of around 8 percent this year compared to 2021, although surprisingly enough, the popularity of "premium" models like the Tab S8, Tab S8+, and Tab S8 Ultra is reportedly on the rise.
Said three devices are all unquestionably among the best tablets money can buy right now and should remain in that position... until the Tab S9 lineup eventually goes official and up for grabs in key markets like the US.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: